Billy Corgan recently took to social media to announce the passing of his father, musician William Corgan Sr., due to a heart attack.
The same evening, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman played a set of Christmas songs at Madame Zuzu’s, the vegan cake shop he owns with his family in Chicago.
Explaining how his father would have wanted him to have a brave heart, Corgan said, “The show goes on, that’s what my father believed in.”
“My father had his own struggles with music and had a very complicated and oftentimes bitter relationship with the music business. He assumed that I would have the same,” he added.
In the tribute video, Billy shared how his father loved music and inspired him to “not only be a musician of accomplishment but also to love all types of music.”
Reflecting on the influence his father had on him, he said, “I’ve certainly achieved a lot of success, and it all started with him. Watching him play in basements, at soundchecks and at empty stinking bars.”
During Saturday’s performance, where Billy was accompanied by his partner Chloe Mendel and their two kids, he launched two new holiday singles- “Evergreen” and “The Magi and the Shiny Bright” and performed the Christmas classic “Do You Hear What I Hear?” with his young daughter Philomena.
William Corgan Sr. joined his son on stage on several occasions, including the Funshine Music Fest 2013. He even featured solo as a guitarist on The Pumpkins’ B-side “The Last Song,” from 1996’s Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness single “Thirty-Three.”
(Photo: Jonathan Weiner)
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